NSW Said On Semis Match

Not worried about pitch: Katich

New South Wales Blues captain Simon Katich hoped his side's unfamiliarity with the venue for Friday's semifinal, after having played all its group games in Chennai, would not prove too much of a handicap. “Look, there's nothing we can do about that,” he said. “It's part of the draw. We knew that and we're just going to have to deal with it. I hope it won't have too much of an impact.”

The first match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday saw relatively low scores, while the second fixture witnessed a successful chase of a total of 214. 

“I don't think you can plan too much in this form of the game,” he said. “I think we saw that in Chennai the other night when David Warner batted the way he did. It just goes to show that you can't have a pre-conceived idea of what a good total is. It only takes someone to have a blinder of an innings and get going. There's no point planning to go and get 140 if the wicket might end up being better than that. You just don't know until you get out there and play on it.” 

Asked if the generosity RCB's bowlers had displayed would encourage his batsmen, Katich felt their figures had probably been skewed by prevailing conditions. “That's probably a by-product of the wicket here,” he said. “There are smaller boundaries and if the dew is a factor then it's probably been harder for the bowlers to find the right length, with the ball skidding on. You can always look at it both ways.”

Counterpart Daniel Vettori, meanwhile, said his side's attention in the build-up was directed towards NSW's devastating opening pair of Warner and Shane Watson. “Watson and Warner are crucial to their side's success and they have done so well,” he said. “They are two quality players; we saw what Warner did in the last game, and everyone is aware of how good Watson is. So our main focus going into the game will probably be working out ways of getting into that middle order who are still experienced and good, but not as destructive as their two top guys.”

The uncomfortably close nature of Wednesday's win notwithstanding, Vettori reiterated that his side preferred chasing over batting first. “It's something that we did a lot in the IPL this year” he said. “We managed to play exceptionally well against Somerset when we lost the toss and batted first, yes, but it is a preference for us to chase.”